3 reasonable goals for Raptors PG Fred VanVleet in 2022-23

1. Make an All-Star team

VanVleet became the first undrafted player in over a decade to earn the very exclusive All-Star nomination. Making the team two years in a row might be too tall a task for VanVleet in the eyes of some, as the competition in the division has gotten much more robust in the offseason.

Donovan Mitchell and Dejounte Murray were two All-Stars from the Western Conference that arrived via trades. In Brooklyn, Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving will be fully healthy, making it more challenging for VanVleet to break through. Difficult? Yes. Impossible? Not at all.

Will Toronto Raptors PG Fred VanVleet make two All-Star games?

VanVleet’s best bet for inclusion in this game is to either break the box score with some crooked numbers the NBA is not used to seeing from him or helping the Raptors become such a dominant team that their success is impossible to ignore. The latter is how Lowry piled up All-Star appearance after All-Star appearance.

Even though he made last year’s showcase by the skin of his teeth, VanVleet’s inclusion put the NBA world on notice and proved once and for all that few across the game can match his combination of dominant defense and timely shot-making. Doing it again would make him a bona fide star in this league.